Well I underestimated the system requirements for Battlefront

Wow! The PC/Windows system requirements are slightly above what I was expecting. Talking about the RAM (computer's system memory) and the Graphics Card power.

CPU: Intel Core i3 6300T
-That's a processor that was released this year! Dual core at 3.3 Ghz with hyper threading. Basically telling you to invest in a full 4-core system if  you haven't already.

8GB of System RAM minimum (16 recommended). I only have 4 installed in this system now so I would be looking at an $80.00 dollar investment for 8 GB from the same brand and series I prefer. 

40 GB of Hard drive space is sort of the expected thing for "AAA" games these days so that's nothing all that noteworthy. 

Nvidia GTX 660 with 2 GB of VRAM. So I looked up the reference specs on Nvidia's website and that would be 960 Cuda cores at a clock speed of 980 MHz.  GDDR5 VRAM. This would be another $200.00 upgrade for me to get a GTX 960.

You can buy the older fallout games on GOG once again.

While waiting for Fallout 4 why not play the entries that started the series? Back at the start of 2014 All of the Fallout games were removed from the Good Old Games store.

Goodbyes are not forever (and war never changes). @Fallout is back, fully #DRMfree! http://t.co/DowKmrUEht pic.twitter.com/8dH6yJRBko

— GOG.com (@GOGcom) August 27, 2015

• Fallout 1
• Fallout 2
• Fallout Tactics

 The games have reappeared back in the store and are on sale for the next few days. You can get the 3 games for a mere $10.00. If you don't already own  the games via Steam this would be a good way to go because GOG tries to support newer version of Windows OSes  and DRM free.

http://www.gog.com/promo/bethesda_launch_fallout_bundle_260815

Having to wait until early 2016 for Tomb Raider sequel to hit PC is fine

This has been the news that I've been waiting to hear. Somebody could have just said something at E3 2015 but at least it's been announced now. 

Rise Of The Tomb Raider Launches On PC Next Year - http://t.co/NX6KGcgcti pic.twitter.com/wcDpBpyq4a

— Game Informer (@gameinformer) July 23, 2015

 PC gamers may have to wait  until early 2016  release but the devs can use that time to fine tune the Windows/PC port (not have a possible Arkham Knight fiasco).  The PS4 players will have to wait the longest Holiday late 2016.

Even more bad press for Warner Bros. Interactive

It has not been a very favorable few months for Warner Brothers' "games" division because the PC (Windows) ports of two big releases of 2015 have had serious bugs.   The most recent one being Batman: Arkham Knight which was released  today. According to the Wikipedia page for Arkham Knight the PC port of the last Batman game was done by Iron Galaxy Studios. Most notable for their ports of older Capcom games.  

Read this article on PC Gamer...

The previous disaster was with the release of Mortal kombat X for PC/Windows back in April. MK X was definitely the more severe release due to the issue of base game content not being initially accessible and the major problem of  Save Game data getting lost due to a patch. That was by a different 3rd party studio called High Voltage Software.  I've actually visited this place a while back.

It's especially sad to hear about these issues because both of these 3rd party developers that ported MK X and Arkham Knight are based in the state of Illinois.While I like the fact that Warner Bros. Interactive is giving these Illinois-based game development studios a chance  to work on big games, as  a gamer you just wish for a cleaner release you know?

If you still plan on playing the game on PC remember to get the latest drivers for your Nvidia or AMD video cards (links can be found in the PC gamer article above).

Final Day of the 2015 Steam Summer Sale - Anime games still discounted

Today June 21st is the final day of Steams big summer sale and a whole lot of the Anime related games that were featured last week are still on sale.

• Both Naruto Shippudden games being published by Bandai Namco
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse also published by Bandai Namco 
• Valkyria Chronicles published by Sega 
•  The first of 4 chapters of the Visual Novel Higurashi: When They Cry was released in English  last month 

At the time of this post there are just over 20 hours left in the Steam summer sale so if you were holding now is you last chance to pick up tittles on your wishlist. 

If you want Shenmue III you will need to help fund it

Not a mean joke. Can the Internet do it again? Fund a game by the original creator. The last time Shenmue was seen was way back in 2002. Going to be using the latest Unreal game engine. I don't know how difficult it was for Mr. Suzuki to get the series name and stuff from Sega but it is really cool nonetheless.


This was announced/launched during the Sony E3 2015  presentation earlier tonight. Quite the aggressive funding goal at 2 Million US Dollars.    PS4 and Windows PC (if it gets funded)


I really hope  one of the features this game comes with are recap videos. When Shenmue II was ported over to the original XBOX it came with a bonus DVD that had the cut scenes from Shenmue I... Oh there it is Unlocked if funding reaches 2.5 million. I'm really just interested in continuing the story that was left at with Shenmue II.

Summer Steam sale 2015 has begun and includes two Anime related games

The Annual Steam Summer sale started today and surprisingly two games featured on the front page are worth talking about. first up is for all of you Naruto/Shippudden fans out there Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution  is 66% off, making it just under $20.00 USD. This game was released on Steam last September. Aside from the large playable roster, playing as Mecha-Naruto is downright odd.

If I remember it right Mecha Naruto can be seen in episodes 376 and 377 of the Anime. The previous game ... Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst is also on sale for much less (under $10.00) 


Naruto Shippudden Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution

Ninja Storm 3: Full Burst

The other game was originally a Sony PS3 Exclusive  and received a Windows/PC port to the surprise and joy of many. Valkyria Chronicles, Released in November of last year, can be had for $5.00 USD.  Good game if you like a  military-themed, turn-based strategy game.  I kind of cheating with this one because the Anime was made after the Video game.

At the time of this posting the titles mentioned above will be on sale for the next 40 hours.

Steam is having a Weekend Batman sale

All  the major games in the Arkham series is on sale this weekend on Steam to get you ready for the upcoming Arkham Knight in late June.  Giving any interested gamer a month to get through these games.

The titles included in the sale are: 

Batman Arkham Asylum:  Game of The Year
Batman Arkham City:  Game of The Year
Batman Arkham Origins

At $4.99 each, now would be a good time to pick them up if they aren't part of your library. 
While Batman Arkham Origins doesn't include the DLC like the two other games The add-ons are discounted.

I would definitely recommend that you play through Arkham City before Knight comes out. Not only for the story connection but to get familiar with free flow combat system.    


http://store.steampowered.com/sale/batman/

Origin Humble Bundle 2 update - Wing Commander and more added

Had to make a post about this because even more (older) great games got added to the current main deal going on the Humble Bundle site.


If you want a listing of the other games I posted up part 1 last week

Once again you will need EA's Origin digital download client/service to install these games onto your computer. What did EA throw in for those paying for the tier 2 (average) price? Older games as in pre-2000

• Wing Commander III
• Wing Commander IV
• These two Wing Commander games are the famous for having those full motion videos featuring live-actors like Mark Hamil and Malcolm McDowell in the cutscenes. Both titles are space/sci-fi flight shooter from the 1990s. A joystick is highly recommended if you plan to play it. Without a doubt, two high production Space/flight shooter games. 

• Sim City 2000
• The Classic city building/management game from Maxis. I don't think I really need to say too much about this game.  The game  was so popular that it was ported over from the PC to various home consoles of the time. A game originally from 1995.
  
  
• Ultima VII: Complete edition 
• I've never played this game but it does come with a lot of expansions A game from 1992 and the oldest game in the bundle

If you were still on the fence about getting this bundle the Average price to get both tier 1 and  tier 2 games it is hovering around $5.00 USD at the time of this post.  Less than a week left before it ends.

Torchlight: Going down deeper into depths with the Lady Knight

The lady knight and her faithful white tiger have now reached the "teen" dungeon floors 13-17 and have dueled quite a few notable enemies gaining fame after besting them. getting lower into the dungeon you start to encounter enemies with ranged attacks and spellcasters.

By this point  I switched from weapon and shield to dual wielding swords. To regain some of the defense stats I lost by replacing a shield I have begun augmenting my existing equipment with gems that increase armor points. Purchased and learned the spell of self-healing since mana regenerates over time. Frees up a few blocks of inventory space too.

A feature that I thought would come more useful to me was the sending your pet into town to sell his/her inventory and well my play style is to give my pet all the unidentified item drops to hold onto. I just find it so much easier to open a town portal and sell unwanted items myself. Still nice that it is implemented though. 

Only died once so far in the game but the difficulty has certain gone up since I am nearing level 20 and downward. 

Replaying the original Torchlight with some add-ons

Torchlight 1 is a game is a game I bought once the retail edition was available. That was around 2010. When it was being released by Encore. Played the game Vanquisher (ranger-style). Remember reaching the final floors of the main dungeon but I just kept on getting overwhelmed at the final boss battle. Over and over again.

Starting over from the start with a new character on Normal difficulty

The Starting Armor doesn't look intimidating at all. lol.

So which community made modifications did I decide to try out?

Someone is trying to resurrect the Descent series...

Via Kickstarter! Something that was brought to my attention via a Titter post.  The problem is that the funding is only just over 50% with only 6 days left before  the end of the fund raising period.

I've actually only ever played the  the first two games and really liked them. In short they felt like "Doom in Zero-G". You are flying this spaceship through tunnels and corridors trying to fight off enemy ships and other machines, while trying to pick up various powerups and locating the exit to each level.

The series eventually spun off into a series called Freespace? Which made it feel more like Wing Commander or X-Wing.


It seems that the game has been approved by steam Greenlight, so the game may come out at some point just with less polish due the lack of Kickstarter funds.  Using the Unreal Engine. See the video posted on Youtube.

The link to the kickstarter page can be found here.

Results of my AvP Classic 2000 multiplayer session

So I was able to join the event for an hour or so. Fired up my install of Aliens vs Predator Classic 2000  I went on trying to join servers and  some of them were listed as having open player slots from the max of 8 but they were already full!  Not sure if that 8 max  is a limitation of the original game or GOG Galaxy Multiplayer servers

Ended up just hosting a Multiplayer game. Set the game for  (No teams) death match and the Meat Factory map. I like it because it's indoors and has lots of windows for observing or sniping (for preadtor species)  There were quite a few times when I would spawn right next to or "inside" of another player lol..


The only issue during the game was a player matter and not a technical one. Someone was really annoyed by the smartgun and marine pulse rifle and actually rage quit!  Still had fun. Died a ton, won a few too.

Looks like I will helping Stress Test GOG servers tomorrow

GOG aka Good Old Games posted this on their website... They are trying to stress test their Online Multiplayer servers tomorrow Feb 12, 2015.

If you live in the Central Time Zone like me then  the start time converts to 10:00 AM.

three games are listed ...

• AVP Classic 2000
• The Witcher Adventure Game
• Double Dragon Trilogy 

You'll find me playing AVP / Aliens Vs Predator. Not sure if I will be hosting or not.

Probably want to  to run the game/ Galaxy Client a little beforehand just to make sure you don't have any pending GOG Galaxy launcher/game updates to download and install.

Some of the best Star Wars games in one bundle

Part of the Star Wars (Episode VII)  Force for Change  initiative Pay for games at a discount and fund a good cause (Unicef). These are for Windows PC/ Steam/Digital Downloads.



===Tier 1===
Knights of The Old Republic
Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy
Dark Forces

The first Tier requiring a min payment of 1 USD, Knights of the Old Republic is an RPG game that came before The Old Republic MMO. Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy allows you to wield A lightsaber and force powers. Used to play this a lot over LAN.




===Tier II====
Battlefront II
Knight of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Republic Commando



===Tier III===
Empire at War (+ Forces of Corruption expansion)
Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition
Force Unleashed II

Empire at War was the Real Time Strategy game where you could lead the Rebel Alliance or Galactic Empire to victory. The Force Unleashed games  are supercharged version of Jedi Academy.  Better graphics and in-game physics engine.



This would be an excellent way to get some of the best Star Wars Games that (now defunct) Lucasarts published prior to closing down shop. I already own a lot of these games on physical media or from Steam via individual purchases

Over a Week left before this bundle expires.

Games I'm currently playing: Aliens versus Predator for The PC

Not the remake but the old-school one. Released around the same time as the original Half - Life if i remember correctly.  Aliens Versus Predator is a First Person sometimes shooting other times clawing, other times stealth action game from the 1990s. Just look at the rendered computer setups in the screenshot! I got the game for free by supporting and testing the online multiplayer.

Screenshot taken with Graphics settings maxed out. Haha

 In order to take this screenshot I was playing as a Marine/Human with the Pulse Rifle at the ready.  The game runs even on the most current releases of Windows at Max graphical quality.  I want to talk about the map seen in the screenshot...

The Walking Dead (Game) Season 1 and Season two on sale on Steam

The Walking Dead Episode Season 2 Episode 5 was released this week via digital download services like Steam. The Season finale for Clem and company.

For the next "day" Season 1 (5 episodes) and Season 2 (5 episodes) will be discounted on the service. Part of the "Midweek Madness" sale that Steam regularly has. Each season is going for $10.00 or less.

Defintely worth playing if you are a fan of Point and Click, story focused games.

Season 1 $6.24
Season 2 $9.99

Naruto Shippuden game part of the Steam Summer Sale 2014!

It's so rare for PC gamers/ Windows OS users get actual ports of Anime games.  Naruto/Shippuden fans are the lucky ones as Ultimate Ninja Storm 3: Full Burst 3  was ported and released last year. It's 50% off as of this post. The Steam Summer Sale is going on until the 30th of June.

Box Art for Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3

The original list price on Steam is $39.99 but thanks to the sale it is currently going for $19.99.
You can watch the trailer on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfPtddaiWp8 (via Gamespot channel)

Steam store page

I honestly don't know if the PC port of the game is any better or worse than the 360/PS3 releases. If you were interested in picking it up but found the price too high before, now is a good time.